Demand for Rhino horns surges undoing decades of conservation effortshttp://apocadocs.com/s.pl?1336487321
South Africa is the epicentre of the poaching battle. A conservation success story, the country is home to 70 to 80 per cent of the world's rhinos.
In 2007, 13 rhinos were poached. Last year the number hit 448, and more than 200 have already been killed this year.
In Kenya, Zimbabwe and other countries, poaching is also on the rise, but at a less dramatic pace....
Demand for rhino horn in Asian traditional medicine is booming. On the black market, the horns are literally worth their weight in gold: about 50,000 euros ($66,000) per kilo....
Some private reserves that can't afford armed patrols have started dehorning rhinos. That's a difficult procedure in itself, and offers no long-term protection: the horns grow back.